you have olives, customize them. Drain them of their brine and put them in a small pot with a few wide pieces of orange or lemon peel, a teaspoon of chile flakes, a few fennel seeds, and a little good olive oil. Serve them warm. Or serve small pieces of stale bread quickly toasted and drizzled with herby oil, or toasted nuts, or halved soft-boiled eggs sprinkled with salt or topped with slivered anchovy. You will have provided the greatest hospitality you can, acknowledging the quiet gurglings we all have and never bother to tell anyone about: we’re supposed to be hungry three times a day.
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